You ain't in low places
by bigk4062
Summary: Joey confronts Kaiba after a recent breakup... inspired by Garth Brooks 'Friends in Low Places' and Julie Roberts 'You Ain't Down Home


Joey Wheeler stood in front of The Drunk Bucket adjusting his green jacket for what seemed like the hundredth time. Next to him was his best buddy Tristan, grinning at him like a fool.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asked, looking over at the blond duelists. Joey smiled, giving Tristan two thumbs up.

"I was born ready."

"Good luck man." Tristan said, giving Joey a fist bump before the blond turned and walked up the street. Tristan watched him disappear into the evening air before turning and looking at his boyfriend.

"Tell everyone they have 5 minutes to place their bets." Duke grinned before pulling off his hat and running into the bar while Tristan kept his eye on the spot where Joey had disappeared into.  
X

_"I don't know why you bother to invite me to these things. I hate them, I hate being there with all of those stuffy people, drinking crappy champagne and having to remember which fork to eat my salad with." Joey mutter, slamming the invitation down on the counter in front of Kaiba. _

_The brunet smirked, swatting the blond's hands away as he carefully picked up the paper. "God forbid you get a little bit of class in your life mutt. Maybe you should try to make some connections, then these parties wouldn't be such a problem." Kaiba answered, dangling the paper from two fingers in front of Joey. _

_"I don't need that kind of class in my life. Bunch of backstabbing jerks, the whole lot of them." Joey muttered under his breath, causing Kaiba to roll his eyes and sigh in annoyance. _

_Mokuba in the meantime watched in silence, knowing after years of hearing the two of them fight it was best to just let them go, and help them nurse their bruised egos afterwards. "Those 'jerks' are important business partners who, May I remind you, are donating a ton of money to the charity auction Mokuba sat up. So yes, I do think you need a little class, as in learning how to sit down, shut up, and look pretty." _

_Joey blinked at him, honey eyes meeting blue in surprise before turning on his heel and walking away, leaving the Kaiba brothers behind. _

_"Seto," Mokuba started, sighing. "You should really learn to speak to Joey with a little more respect. He's done a lot for you over the years, he deserves something in return." _

_"Let me deal with the mutt Mokuba, you just finish your homework." Mokuba frowned at his brother before snatching his books and marching out of the kitchen, slamming his bedroom door to show his annoyance at his brother's attitude._

X

Standing in front of the fanciest hotel in Domino, Joey checked himself one more time before walking in. Green jacket with white tank top underneath- check. His favorite blue jeans with the grease stain on the left thigh-check. Blond hair nice and poufy-check. His Air Muscle sneakers, the ones with the hole in the toe from Yami's shadow games-check.

He was ready, taking a deep breath and walking in. The staff all knew him well, this hotel was owned by Kaiba Corp, and Joey would often meet Kaiba here for a quiet night alone when they were dating. The good ones were discrete, knowing it wasn't worth it to upset the CEO- Kaiba as an employer was very generous, but cross him once and you were cut off from ever working for him again.

Even now, when he wasn't supposed to be there, they hesitated to approach him, not wanting to cause a scene. Finally, the manager walked up to him, bowing slightly at the blond.

"Good evening Mr. Wheeler, can I be of some assistance for you sir?"

Joey waved his hand, giving an impish grin. "Tony, man, I really like you so I'm going to pretend that you didn't speak to me ok? I've got an invite for Kaiba's fancy shindig here, so I'm going in whether you like it or not." Tony frowned at that, not sure of what to do.

Sure, this week Kaiba and Joey were not speaking, but that didn't mean they wouldn't make up tomorrow, and then he would be in trouble for not permitting the blond access. On the other hand, if it was permanent this time, he would be in trouble for doing it. Joey sensed his hesitation, and decided to show pity to the man.

"Listen Tony, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm going to go outside, ease my way in the back way so you don't get into trouble ok? Kaiba never took away my access card, I think he forgot I had it, that way it's all on me how does that sound?"

Tony nodded, placing a firm hand on Joey's shoulder, escorting the young man outside. Joey watched as the doors shut in front of him, smiling to himself. Looking around, he casually strolled off, doubling back after a few minutes to sneak in Kaiba's private entrance.

Walking quickly through the hallways, he was forced to duck several times to avoid more hotel workers, not wanting to get anyone in trouble. Finally he reached his destination- the double doors which led to the hotel's biggest ballroom.

X

_"I swear Wheeler, you are more trouble than you're worth." Kaiba stated, watching as Joey shifted around uncomfortably while the tailor checked his suit. _

_"You shouldn't spend this kind of money on me Kaiba, you know I'll never wear this again." Joey muttered, looking down at himself. The suit was as basic as they can get, black with a white shirt and a black tie, perfect for a boring dinner 'party' with Kaiba. _

_"Don't worry about it, I'll donate it to the Wear for Work drive afterwards." Kaiba stated, nodding to himself as the tailor turned Joey around for his final approval. _

_"Come on Joey, let's finish up so we can go get dinner!" Mokuba added, knowing that food was the best way to get this whole process over with. _

_"Fine." Joey said, looking himself over one more time before nodding. The suit fit perfectly, and it looked great on him so he really did not have a leg to stand on for his complaints anyway. He shuffled off to change and Kaiba stood up, rubbing his temples in annoyance at the blond's attitude, muttering under his breath. Mokuba glared at his brother's back, knowing it was about time for one of their classic blow ups, hoping that it would at least be after the event._

X

Mokuba glared at his brother while the brunet was giving a speech. Next to him was, of all people, Zigfried von Schroeder, the pink haired freak that had once tried to take over Kaiba Corp. On his other side was Pegasus, the silver-haired man radiating excitement over the current seating arrangement.

He, of course, had been expecting to see Joey's familiar mop of blond hair, and to see his high class replacement had Pegasus in silent stitches while Mokuba fumed. His brother was an idiot, and Mokuba couldn't wait for their guest to leave so Mokuba could give Seto a piece of his mind.

Pegasus obviously noticed Mokuba's face, leaning down to whisper in the raven-haired boy's ear. "I take it your brother and Joseph are in the middle of another lover's quarrel, hhhmmm Mokuba? It's hard on the children when mommy and daddy fight."

Mokuba shot a glare over at Pegasus before turning back to his brother with a pout. He hadn't spoken to his brother since coming home from school on Thursday to find Joey gone, Zigfried lounging on the couch in his place.

When they got to the event, Mokuba had refused to sit next to his brother, instead switching seats with Zigfried to sit between him and Pegasus. At least the silver-haired CEO was proving to be quiet entertaining, his need for gossip making him practically giddy with excitement.

Seto finished speaking to thunderous applause, and made his way back over to his seat, Zigfried rubbing Kaiba's leg with his hand while Mokuba tried not to vomit on the table.

"I vould like to propose a toast." Zigfried said, reaching for his champagne glass. "To old friends, and old enemies, coming together for the greater good. Herr Kaiba, you are a man of great class who should be respected by all."

Mokuba choked some more at this, rolling his eyes and muttering something under his breath.

"Hey pinkie, don't put down that glass yet, I've got something to say."

Mokuba looked up at the voice, his whole face lighting up as he caught sight of the speaker. "Joey!"

X

_Wednesday night the dam broke, as the saying goes. Mokuba was out late studying with his friends, leaving his brother home alone with Joey. They were eating a quiet dinner, Kaiba barely looking up front the paper as Joey stirred his soup listlessly. _  
_"Didn't your mother bother to tell you not to play with your food?" Kaiba asked him, still not adverting his gaze front the paper. _

_"No sorry, my parents couldn't' afford 'How to be a rich jerk' school." Joey shot back, already feeling his temper rise. Kaiba's eyes rolled into the back of his head, sighing in annoyance. _

_"I take it they couldn't afford to tell you not to talk with your mouth full either huh?" Kaiba's eyes narrowed in annoyance, fists clenching in anger. _

_"No, they couldn't." Joey said, looking down at his soup, lost in thought. A few minutes passed by with nothing being said, Kaiba folding his arms and glaring at the blond. _

_"You know what your problem is Kaiba? You live up here in your fancy mansion with your little sports card, and your black diamond credit cards, and your Jacuzzi. Then you go out on the town, and you're so worried about how you look, how I look and how _

_Mokuba looks that you don't bother to just let go and have fun." _

_Kaiba growled, slamming his hand down on the table, narrowing his eyes at Joey. "I don't have the luxury of 'letting go and having fun' Wheeler, and you know that. There are snakes all over the place just waiting to take my company from me. I can't afford to give them something they can use." _

_"You mean those 'friends' you invite to your big events? The ones I'm forced to make small talk with when we go out? Are they the snakes you're talking about?" _

_Kaiba stood up, using his 4 inches of height difference to tower over Joey menacingly. "If you have a problem with the way my life is, you know exactly where the door is Wheeler." He whispered dangerously. _

_Joey didn't back down, glaring up at Kaiba. "You want to know what your problem is Kaiba" _

_"You already told mutt, or have you suffered some sort of short-term memory loss?" _

_"No. All those things I mentioned are just the symptoms rich boy. You're real problem is that you ain't down home, where people actually care about you, and not about what your money can buy them. You know how to dress, and how to look impressive, but you don't know how to be real." _

_Kaiba stood there, stewing quietly for a minute a he glared at the blond in front of him. "Well, I certainly don't want to crimp the style of an alleyway mutt. How about you go out on the streets for a bit so you don't have to deal with my 'fakeness' anymore." _

_Joey paled for a second before narrowing his eyes back at Kaiba. "Fine. Have fun with your friends on Friday, and I'll have fun with mine." _

_"Don't forget to pack your crap up." Kaiba replied, settling himself back down at the table and taking a spoonful of soup, staring at Joey as he ate it. _

_X_

The blond nodded, smiling at Mokuba before snatching Zigfried's glass right out of his hand. The pink haired CEO sat there in shook, not knowing what to say to Joey, fear reflecting in his eyes. Joey raised the glass in mock salute towards his former lover, Kaiba's face slowly turning to stone in front of him.

"You wouldn't let me in your office yesterday to do this, so I guess I have to do it here. To Seto Kaiba, the man, the myth, and the King of G- oh wait a second, that's Yugi. Hold on." Joey pretended to fumble around in his pockets while Kaiba started mentally plotting his murder.

"I had this whole thing prepared too… aw there it is!" He produced a key, tossing it on the table in front of the brunet with a smile.

"Just wanted to return that to its owner, oh, and this too." He said, tossing the key card he had used to come in also.

"I'm assuming since Ziggy here is a little more high-brow than I am, he won't be needed to use your back door access cards, but I wanted to make sure to give those directly to you."

Pegasus was grinning like a fool, thoroughly enjoying watching Kaiba's head explode. He couldn't confront the blond here and Joey knew it, and he was taking full advantage of it.

"Wheeler, this is not the time nor the place for your little temper tantrums." Kaiba said, trying hard to control himself.

"Oh, I think this is the perfect time, Herr Kaiba. Who better to witness our breakup than all of your 'closest' high-brow friends?" Joey said, his face arranged into a smirk that matched Kaiba's. Pegasus giggled, raising his own champagne glass.

"Oh Joseph, you really are my favorite out of all of the duelist I met. Won't you stay and be my guest, I promise I won't be embarrassed at your antics like Kaiba-boy."

"Pegasus." Kaiba said with a warning tone, looking like he wanted to strangle both of them. Joey ignored him, smiling at the silver-haired CEO.

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind? I wouldn't want anyone talking about you Pegasus."

"Joseph, I am what they call eccentric. People talk about me all the time, and I simply shrug and tell them a story about Funny Bunny." Pegasus replied, a devious glint in his good eye.

"I think you will bring just the right amount of life to this drab party."

"Pegasus-" Kaiba started, only to be hushed by the older man, who got up and walked around the table to face Joey. He offered a hand, which Joey accepted.

"I've been dying to know the story about how you got that hole in your one shoe. It's been bugging me since Duelist Kingdom." The CEO pulled the blond close, whispering something in his ear quietly. Joey laughed, pulling away with a smile.

"Sorry Pegasus, I would love to stay, but I have to go spend some time with my 'low class' friends at our favorite bar. I don't belong here right now, not like I ever really did." He pulled away from Pegasus, still holding the glass of champagne from Zigfried,

turning towards Kaiba who had a murderous glint in his eyes.

"Good night everyone, I'm going to leave you guys to finish his party without me." He drank the champagne from the glass, grimacing at the taste before leaning over and placing the empty flute in front of Zigfried.

"And Kaiba? Kiss my ass." He said, before throwing a wink at Mokuba and Pegasus and turning to leave, heading back to his friends and the party at the dive bar.


End file.
